St Paul's Church - The Open Space Project

All are welcome at St Paul’s. You will find a warm, safe, open space where you are free to watch or join in, to receive or to give, to pass through or to belong.

St Paul’s has been at the heart of Egham Hythe for over 100 years and has a long track record of being there for people at important stages of life. Through a combination of the community events we host and the weekly activities we offer, St Paul’s is now instrumental in the daily lives of many in our community. Over the last few years, St Paul’s has increased its own funding and community engagement, setting up a number of new weekday activities to address the significant needs gap that has developed as a result of the national cost of living crisis and the loss of several local community spaces.

The Open Space Project is to improve the church facilities and accessibility to accommodate a range of weekday activities. Our focal points are:

● Youth and Children- building the confidence of children and young people through participation in weekday activities

● Inclusion- addressing loneliness, vulnerability and social isolation within the wider community by providing a safe, warm and welcoming venue.

● Creating Community- Bringing groups together, to create and share a sense of the wider Egham Hythe community across the generations, and create local change through cohesive strategies and services

We are asking for £878,000 to build an extension to the church which will contain a kitchen capable of serving both large and smaller events in the church, and a weekly Food Kitchen. It will house accessible toilets and baby changing facilities and improvements to the entrances which will make the building more accessible all round as well as reduce heat loss. In addition, the space will include a small cafe area and a private meeting room to enable us to support those in crisis.

Including the most vulnerable is a key priority, and since opening as a venue for the Foodbank last year we are now providing around 150kg of food and toiletries per week to those who need it most. The new facilities would also mean our Food Kitchen could provide meals on site.

St Paul’s wishes to not only continue the essential work that it currently hosts, but also expand it through a more dignified, comfortable and, where needed private experience. As the only large space available in this community, and with the long-trusted relationship with the local community, volunteers from within the community, and a track record of successful provision, we believe that St Paul’s is well placed to continue to expand and improve the services offered at no cost to those who need it most.

Detailed plans of the extension and more information can be found at

https://speh.org.uk/community-2/facilities-project-/

The total project cost is £1,024,203 and we are requesting £878,000 from Your Fund Surrey.